The next day we woke to rain which continued for the rest of the day as we drove south. We certainly had got lucky with the advice to go counter clockwise! Our stop for the night was Caribou Provincial Park, 10 minutes from the ferry terminal to Prince Edward Island. When we drove north in August we had noticed a highway sign for the ferry and after researching found out there is a 75 minute ferry ride to the south eastern tip of Prince Edward Island. Perfect, since we were going right past the ferry terminal and could avoid the 5 hour drive to the bridge in New Brunswick.
We spent the next three nights at Brudenell provincial park which we loved. We were at the end of the season so it was quiet and we had great views of the ocean coast of red sand and rocks. The cats loved the park which had easy access to hiking trails, and Rocket and Zeke enjoyed a few hours of walking through the woods. Flash preferred to stay closer to home and check out the plants.
One of the main reasons we wanted to visit PEI was to ride the Confederation Trail, a bike path that goes from one end of the island to the other. We were curious about the regular use of the word Confederation, and learned it is the historical process that created modern Canada on July 1, 1867, by uniting separate British colonies into a single federal nation. This union expanded over 132 years from the four original provinces (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia) to include British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1873 and Newfoundland in 1949. The massive North West Territories was purchased from Hudson's Bay Company in 1870 and over the years divided to create the remaining prairie provinces and northern territories.
We rode the Confederation trail into Georgetown on Sunday September 20th and had an enjoyable ride in the trees and along the coastline. It was great to be back on the bikes after our time in Newfoundland. The next day was rainy, but the weather cleared in the afternoon and we enjoyed a magnificent sunset from the beach.
Tuesday we left the east coast of the island and drove west just 35 miles to the tiny town of Tracadie and stayed two nights at an RV campsite which was right on the Confederation trail. We had a short bike ride before sunset and enjoyed the pretty scenery of wetlands and birds, although there was a really chilly wind which required some teeth gritting to get home! The next day was a lovely warm sunny morning and we had a much more enjoyable ride through some pretty farmland. Surprisingly the cats were all willing to risk the walk across the campground to access the trail and we had an amusing time trying to keep them going in mostly the same direction.
We left the campground on Thursday September 24th and stopped on the outskirts of Charlottetown, the main city. We needed some parts for a plumbing leak under the sink which showed up just as we were leaving Brudenell. We went to three stores looking for a 3" plastic pipe without any success, until the kind folks at White Cap sprang into action and started calling family and friends trying to find the item for us. Finally there was success, Campbell Concrete of all places had what we needed!
Friday was time to start the 750 mile journey to the US border. We stopped for lunch in the tiny town of Victoria on the south coast of PEI and then drove over the 8 mile Confederation bridge to New Brunswick. The bridge holds the record as the longest bridge in the world over ice-covered waters. It was built in 1997 and takes you over the Northumberland Strait which is ice-covered from December to late April. Before the bridge was built a massive ice breaking ferry was needed to keep the connection to the mainland during the winter.
We had several route options to get us to Charleston, South Caroline for John's college reunion. Google Maps kept recommending the eastern route of I95, for the 1,500 mile journey. We had no desire to drive the RV along one of the busiest roads in the country, past New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC. There was also a massive storm system hitting the east coast causing disruption. We decided to drive across the middle of New Brunswick, through Quebec and down through Vermont and New Hampshire. Much more relaxing, and gave us an opportunity to see a bit of Quebec.
We spent the night in the New Brunswick rural community of Jemseg which had a small park where people can camp for free overnight. We had the place to ourselves and enjoyed a beautiful sunset and a large open field which the cats loved. They spent hours that evening and the following morning exploring the area, trailing their leashes while we tried to keep an eye on them. Flash had a rare burst of energy and acted like a kitten running around and climbing up trees. We had a lot of driving ahead so it was good for them all to burn off some energy.
Saturday September 26th we continued north west through New Brunswick stopping several times to check out the amazing fall colors. We turned off the highway on a quiet side road to check out the views along the St John river and were asked by two separate people if we were lost and needed help - what friendly people. Our stop for the night was Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, a small city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River and we were treated to another magnificent sunset!
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